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National Team Member
12 time National Champion
Multiple World Cup Winner
World Championships Silver Medalist
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Tuesday, August 24, 2004Cycling: Poitras pedals to national double gold
Cycling: Poitras pedals to national double gold
Langley Advance News
August 27, 2004
Mandy Poitras returned from a brief hospital stay to win a second gold medal.
After enduring a nasty crash, a wasp sting, broken equipment, and heavy downpours of rain, Walnut Grove cyclist Mandy Poitras came home from the 2004 Tim Hortons National Track Championships in Victoria with four medals.
Photo: Andrea Brewer
Representing Rocky Mountain/PowerBar, Poitras earned two golds with wins in the scratch race and individual pursuit, and a pair of silvers in the points race and Keirin.
Racing started on Thursday, Aug. 5, with the 3000m individual pursuit qualifiers, followed by the 10 km scratch race final.
Poitras qualified first in the individual pursuit, which set her up to ride for the gold the following night.
Later that day - in an aggressive event facing one of the toughest fields in years - Poitras was able to come around Laura Yoisten of Alberta for the victory in the scratch race.
The race was full of attacks from the gun, especially from Gina Grain, one of Canada's top road sprinters, who was making her track racing debut at nationals.
Many late race attacks were quick to be brought back by the charging field in the closing laps.
With one lap to go, Poitras found herself trailing Grain and Yoisten. In the closing metres, the local rider was able to get by Yoisten to take her first national championship title of the weekend.
The next day was marred with heavy rain, which delayed events until the late afternoon.
With storm clouds still looming, as well as the condensed schedule, there was very little open track time, causing the racers to do the majority of their warm up on rollers and trainers.
Prior to the pursuit finals, the riders were allowed five minutes of open track time to get a feel for their gears.
"I was feeling incredible and really excited about my upcoming gold medal ride," Poitras said. "However, at the end of the ... warm-up, I was finishing an effort at 48 km an hour, and ended up hitting a rider who had turned to get off the track."
The impact launched Poitras over her handlebars.
The result: Poitras cracked her helmet and broke her rear disk wheel in half. She was taken to the ambulance in a neck brace for observation.
"Though extremely sore and a little foggy, I was determined to race," Poitras said. "Unfortunately, the skies would open up again and our pursuit was delayed until the following morning."
Struggling with limited mobility in her neck and back, Poitras said she "gave it everything I had," in the individual pursuit final, and was able to come out with another victory, by only three-tenths of a second, in the three km race.
Nature proved to be Poitras's next obstacle, as she prepared for the points race the next day. Shortly before the race, she was stung on the bicep by a wasp, confirming that things - bad and good - truly do happen in threes.
Hoping this would be the end of her her bad luck, Poitras lined up on the rail for the 16 km points race.
She said that it took her a while to find her legs during the race, which consisted of eight separate sprints.
Grain attacked after the first sprint, but the pack was unwilling to organize a chase. In the end, Grain had amassed too many points, so with one lap to go, Poitras attacked hard to win the final sprint and solidify second place.
The final race was the Keirin, a six-lap race started behind a motorcyle for the opening four laps.
Cyclists had to go through heats, repechages and semifinals in order to make it into the Keirin final at the end of the day.
The riders drew for position on the start line, with the first competitor obliged to ride behind the motorcycle. Being directly behind the motorcycle is advantageous for the first four laps, while the pace is gradually increasing from 30 km per hour to 45 km per hour. But the final two laps are a 666m sprint to the finish line.
Poitras was excited about the final but drew the unfortunate position behind the motorcycle.
"Leading it out with two laps to go was not my ideal race plan," she said.
The race ended with a photo finish between Poitras and Breanna Loster of Victoria, with Loster edging out to victory at the finish line.
Poitras returns to the Track World Cup circuit in November and December in South Africa and Los Angeles.
Poitras's dream to represent Canada at the Athens Olympics vaporized when Canada was not awarded a spot in the Points Race.
"The Canadian Cycling Association had attempted to get a wild card spot for me based on my results throughout the season and my Worlds silver medal, but the International Olympic Committee awarded the remaining spot to the host country, Greece," Poitras said.
Poitras is sponsored by Rocky Mountain Bicycles, PowerBar, Tim Hortons, Shimano, Easton Sports, TUFO North America, Rudy Project, Symmetrics Cycling, Adidas, Basic Sports Nutrition, AVIS Rent A Car, Race Face Headsets, GiroPoste, See You in Athens Fund, and Emer'gen-C.
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